FAQ: Marriage and Family

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Were Franklin and Eleanor related? Franklin and Eleanor were fifth cousins once removed.

When and where did Franklin and Eleanor first meet? According to her Autobiography, Eleanor met Franklin in 1886 when her parents visited Sara Delano and James Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. She was two and he was four.

When and where did Franklin and Eleanor marry and honeymoon? Franklin and Eleanor were married on St. Patrick's Day March 17, 1905 in New York City at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Henry Parrish, Jr.

The wedding was a simple one except for the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt, who gave his niece away. Since Franklin was attending Columbia Law School at the time, they postponed their honeymoon to Europe until the summer and instead took a one-week trip to Hyde Park, New York.

Their honeymoon trip took them to England, France, Italy, Germany, Scotland, and Switzerland.

The eldest child and only daughter of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (called "Sis" by the family) was born in New York City on May 3, 1906. Anna was active as a writer and journalist, and she served as editor of the woman's page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for several years.

In 1944, at her father's request, Anna moved into the White House to serve as an assistant to the President and as White House hostess during her mother's frequent absences. Anna also accompanied her father to the Yalta Conference in January-February 1945.

Anna devoted much of her later life to problems of education and to carrying on many of her mother's interests and philanthropies. She was an active supporter of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. Anna died on December 1, 1975 at the age of 69.

Anna's Marriages and Children:

1m. Curtis Bean Dall, 1926; divorced 1934.

Anna Eleanor Dall, b. 1927 Curtis Roosevelt Dall, b. 1930

2m. Clarence John Boettiger, 1935; divorced 1949.

John Roosevelt Boettiger, b. 1939.

3m. James Addison Halsted, M.D., 1956.

James Roosevelt (Eldest son)

Born in New York City on December 23, 1907, James Roosevelt was the second child and eldest son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. After attending Groton School and Harvard College, James engaged in the insurance business and played an active role in his father's political career, serving as Massachusetts campaign manager in 1932 and becoming an unofficial aide in 1933. He served on the White House staff as a presidential assistant from 1937-1938, and then became a motion picture executive.

He served in the Marines from 1940-1945, earning the Navy Cross and the Silver Star.

After the war, James returned to California where he revived his insurance career and became involved in Democratic politics. He was elected to six terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California. After he left the House in 1967, he returned to California where he became a business consultant, author, and commentator. James died on August 13, 1991 at the age of 83.

James's Marriages and Children:

1m. Betsey Cushing, 1930; divorced 1940

Sara Delano Roosevelt Kate Roosevelt

2m. Romelle Theresa Schneider, 1941; divorced 1955

James Roosevelt, Jr. Michael Anthony Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

3m. Gladys Irene (Kitchner) Owens, 1956; divorced 1969

Hall Delano Roosevelt (adopted)

4m. Mary Lena Winskill, 1969

Rebecca Mary Roosevelt

Elliott Roosevelt (Son)

Born on September 23, 1910, Elliott Roosevelt was named after his maternal grandfather. Elliott attended Groton School like his father and older brother, James, but declined to go to college. He held a variety of jobs before moving to Texas in 1932 to join the communications industry. In 1933 he became manager of the Hearst radio chain.

Elliott joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, where he compiled an outstanding service record, accompanied his father on many of the Allied power conferences, and attained the rank of brigadier-general.

After the war, he became a prolific author, served as head of the Miami Beach Tourist Bureau, and was elected to one term as mayor of Miami Beach, Florida.

Elliott died on October 27, 1990, a month after his eightieth birthday.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., was born on August 17, 1914 on Campobello Island, site of the Roosevelt summer home. After graduating from Groton, Harvard (A.B.) and the University of Virginia (LL.B.), FDR Jr. worked on his father's 1940 election campaign.

He joined the Navy in 1941, earning the Purple Heart, Silver Star and other honors before his discharge in October 1945 at the rank of lieutenant commander.

After the war, he worked as an attorney in New York City and became active in Democratic politics. He served as vice-chairman of President Truman's Civil Rights Commission in 1949, and later that year was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's Twentieth Congressional District, a seat he would hold for three terms. FDR Jr. served as under-secretary of Commerce from 1962-1965 and as the first chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission from 1965-1966.FDR Jr. died on August 17, 1988, his seventy-fourth birthday.

FDR Jr.'s Marriages and Children:

1m. Ethel du Pont, 1937; divorced 1949

Franklin Delano Roosevelt III Christopher du Pont Roosevelt

2m. Suzanne Perrin, 1949; divorced 1970

Nancy Suzanne Roosevelt Laura Delano Roosevelt

3m. Felicia Schiff (Warburg) Sarnoff, 1970; divorced 1976

4m. Patricia Luisa Oakes, 1977; divorced 1981

John Alexander Roosevelt

5m. Linda McKay Stevenson Weicker, 1984

John A. Roosevelt, Jr. (Son)

The youngest child of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, John Aspinwall Roosevelt was born on March 13, 1916 in Washington, D.C. Educated at Groton School and Harvard College, John worked at Filene's Department Store in Boston, Massachusetts, after graduation.

In 1941, he entered the Navy and was discharged in 1946 at the rank of lieutenant commander.

After the war, John was active in various business and financial concerns on the West Coast, finally joining the firm of Bache and Company in 1967. John spent the rest of his career with the firm, and he retired as a senior vice president just a few months before his death on April 29, 1981.

John was the only Roosevelt son not to seek or hold elected office, and in 1952 he switched his political affiliation to the Republican Party so that he could support General Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign. He was involved in many philanthropic endeavors, serving as a fund raiser for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and as a trustee of Marist College and the State University of New York.

Mission Statement

The Library's mission is to foster research and education on the life and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and their continuing impact on contemporary life. Our work is carried out by four major areas: Archives, Museum, Education and Public Programs.